This document analyzes the social media strategies of three major e-commerce companies: Amazon, IKEA, and eBay. It provides statistics and insights into how each company uses platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. The key findings are that Amazon focuses on deals and customer service, IKEA emphasizes visual content and its catalog, and eBay tells brand stories and hosts interactive campaigns. In under 3 sentences, this summarizes the essential information about each company's approach to social media marketing.
2. 2 | www.simplify360.com
Prepared By
Naureen Fatima
IIM Raipur Intern at Simplify360
Edited By:
Rajashree Das
Social Media Analyst at Simplify360
3. 3 | www.simplify360.com
Table of Contents
SOCIAL MEDIA – THE RISING FORCE ..................................................................................................... 4
E COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA ..................................................................................................... 5
Amazon .............................................................................................................................................. 6
Ikea .................................................................................................................................................... 16
Ebay ................................................................................................................................................... 25
4. 4 | www.simplify360.com
SOCIAL MEDIA – THE RISING FORCE
To use one of the most celebrated clichés of English language - Times are changing. Or have they changed already beyond recognition?
Man's innate need to weave and tell stories remains the same. Only this time, the pigeon of yesteryears has transformed into Twitter's blue-hued bird. 'Liking' and 'sharing' are no longer biblical virtues.
Let’s have a look at the stats from Social Media Today:
Infographic by Jeff Bullas.
The preening Narcissus of Greek mythology is today a 25-year-old youth in South Delhi who posts adroitly clicked 'selfies' on his Facebook wall and waits in tingling anticipation as likes and comments pour in.
If Eklavya was born in the 21st century, he would no longer be hiding in the bushes to watch Dronacharya teach his princely disciples. He would have logged on to YouTube and learnt archery from the hundreds of do-it-yourself videos on the site.
So yes, the change is here. It has metamorphosed and it is going to further change the landscape of business environment.
5. 5 | www.simplify360.com
A closer look at how the world around us is hooked onto social media and its tools.
E COMMERCE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
As a part of our research, we have taken up top three e-commerce companies for our analysis, Amazon, EBay and Ikea.
When it comes to e-commerce industry and social media there is undeniable dependency that at times goes beyond just necessity. Social media platforms not just help e-commerce giants boost up their sales by helping display their products but also help in fostering a business-customer intimacy.
The intimacy becomes intimidating at times when the customers find something unsatisfying and decide to vent their emotions on social media, the easiest way out.
E-Commerce goes social
47% of Americans say Facebook is their No 1 influencer of purchases.
4 in 10 social media users have purchases an item in-store or online after sharing it on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.
39% of Facebook users like brand pages to research their products.
How companies manage all of this becomes a big challenge then.
Looking at the strategies of the three companies we come across many interesting trends and points of parity as well as differentiation.
6. 6 | www.simplify360.com
AMAZON
Amazon has social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Quora, YouTube, Vine, LinkedIn and Google+.
Sentiment analysis
Buzz analysis
Buzz share language-wise Buzz by Gender
8. 8 | www.simplify360.com
CONTENT ANALYSIS
AMAZON.COM ON FACEBOOK
1. Context based engagement with offers
Leveraging Oscar Event
On March 1, Amazon asked its fans to like the post and tag a friend. Random selection of winners was done and they got free copy of star trek into darkness and gravity. A week later it again came up with a promotional event where fans were asked to like the page and tell a cure for winter to win energy lights.
Seasonal Offers- Winter Special
Percentage of Likes, Shares and Comments
9. 9 | www.simplify360.com
Amazon received decent proportion of likes and shares but relatively lower engagement in the form of comments.
Fans liked the product advertised and were ready to share it in their circles as well, which is good news for the company.
2. Event based Marketing (festivals and events based content)
10. 10 | www.simplify360.com
3. Goodwill based content aimed at building brand equity
4. Platform for new launches
11. 11 | www.simplify360.com
Prompt and quick reply
Tone is direct and formal
Accountability of person looking into the problem
5. Customer Relationship Management
12. 12 | www.simplify360.com
AMAZON.COM ON TWITTER
Statistics
Followers 1.06M, Following 49, Tweets 2882
Given the brevity that the platform provides Amazon uses its Twitter account mainly to communicate the fans about various deals, discounts and offers on a day to day basis.
Re-tweets are generally aimed at promoting various sub brands like amazon kindle, amazon studios etc.
Fans generally use #amazon if and when they are reading books which they bought on amazon.
1. Platform for deals and offers display
2. Recruitment and talent hunt.
Amazon uses its Twitter account to posts updates about their job requirements.
14. 14 | www.simplify360.com
AMAZON’S INSTAGRAM
POSTS: - 3 FOLLOWERS: - 16864 FOLLOWING: - 3
Not active on Instagram with just 31 posts
Content not relevant
If you decide to ignore the amazon logo at the top of page it would be hard to recognize that it is amazon’s official Instagram page. With just 31 posts that are not indicative of company, amazon can certainly do better.
15. 15 | www.simplify360.com
AMAZON ON MOUTHSHUT.COM
TRENDING ISSUES
SECURITY AND PRIVACY CONCERNS
DELIVERY
CUSTOMER SERVICE
16. 16 | www.simplify360.com
IKEA
IKEA, the world's largest home furnishing retailer, is one of the early pioneers of the social mode of marketing and has leveraged social media clubbed with massive emphasis on its digital catalogue which forms the core of the retailer's social marketing strategy.
Having 345 operational stores across the world (as of year 2013), IKEA's digital marketing strategy remains almost standard - extensive use of social media with separate country pages for respective markets and focus on digital catalogue applications which can be downloaded on app stores such as Google Play and the Apple store.
IKEA’S CATALOG GETS A SOCIAL LAUNCHPAD
Amazon has social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram, Quora, YouTube, Vine, LinkedIn and Google+.
In its home country, Norway (where conventionally everyone got an IKEA catalog in the mail) the retailer decided that rather than simply posting its own catalog online, it would attract Facebook and Instagram users to do it instead.
The campaign, by SMFB Oslo, asked social media users to pick a product each, photograph the page in the print catalog and post it to Instagram and Facebook.
BENEFITS
Online sync of offline strategy to not only boost sales but increase buzz.
Increase in fan following
Brand positioning
17. 17 | www.simplify360.com
IKEA SOCIAL STATS
Sentiment analysis
Buzz language wise Buzz by Age
Buzz by Gender
Keywords
19. 19 | www.simplify360.com
CONTENT ANALYSIS
IKEA ON FACEBOOK
1. Focus at Visual Stimulation
Most of the posts are aimed at visual merchandise of the product range. Content lacks creativity, novelty and engagement.
2. Customer relationship management
20. 20 | www.simplify360.com
Mostly the response time is 0-2 hours which is pretty effective. Also, the response to queries and complaints is very courteous and personalized.
3. Online integration for flyer/catalogue
IKEA FLYER
Asking fans to like the page to view the IKEA flyer, they have previously also launched digital catalogue.
21. 21 | www.simplify360.com
4. Location specific
IKEA US is very focused in its approach with respect to location.
IKEA ON TWITTER
Followers 241 K, Following 122, Tweets 11.6K
Most tweets are made in the beginning of week.
Most tweets are between 10am-12 pm
1. Mostly the tweets are limited to home décor tips and ideas.
23. 23 | www.simplify360.com
IKEA ON VINE
Followers 2,482, Posts 17
The very fact that the official account is named as “Design by IKEA” is a reflection of pretty much what the page is about. Replete with animated images showcasing design this page is used as a platform for showcasing the various new designs.
The interesting part is the design is showcased without its utility being sidelined.
24. 24 | www.simplify360.com
IKEA ON PINTEREST
Followers: 1,25,167 Boards: 38, Likes: 205
This is an obvious choice for a retailer which deals in home furnishings, as this claims to be the official 'visual discovery tool'. Making best use of Pinterest, IKEA visually presents its merchandise to local markets in the UK, USA, Canada and other countries.
25. 25 | www.simplify360.com
EBAY
EBAY is one of the earliest pioneers in e-commerce sphere to leverage social media.
In 2008, it rolled out a FB page. However until 2011 there was no clear strategy, social media platforms were used to just announce product launches. Ebay pursues the story telling narrative format rather than going for direct marketing. One popular post was a photo of a diamond ring that says, “Diamond is April’s birthstone. But, admit it, you wouldn’t mind getting diamonds in any month. Agree?” The post was liked almost 14,000 times and shared nearly 1,000 times. It used paid media to promote the story of Ed Church, who sold a motorcycle when he was in his twenties and then bought it back 32 years later through eBay. The company has several blogs like eBay Fashion and eBay Motors. The content tells stories through photos, videos and text about interesting products sold on eBay like a batmobile that was built by hand and a guitar signed by Adam Levine. Ebay is also using visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram to tell its stories through pictures. EBAY SOCIAL STATS Sentiment analysis
28. 28 | www.simplify360.com
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR FACEBOOK
1. Event based Marketing with an emotional appeal
Starting on Feb 14, 2012 Ebay created and launched a series of videos with the theme of valentine’s and celebration of love. Every video was titled in the form of an interrogative question that aimed to not just stimulate demand but rather create it.
All the videos were integrated with the FB page of the brand and saw huge consumption of more than 230,000 views.
29. 29 | www.simplify360.com
2. Segregation of pages based on end purpose and category
EBay has different pages for different category like EBay Fashion, EBay Electronics, Ebay Motors etc. Also, it has other pages for classifieds and daily deals which serve their intended purposes.
30. 30 | www.simplify360.com
3. What’s the BIG DEAL?
Deals are a cliché, big deals are not. So why not ask the world to find out which one is the “BIG DEAL”.
EBay launched the contest with the intent to raise awareness about its deal and also to increase the engagement. The tab is integrated with its FB page.
4. Leveraging Social Media platforms to drive sales
EBay launched the concept of “Group Gifts” wherein a group of family and friends could collectively purchase a gift using social media platform.
It also launched another social product go “EBay go together”. The product enables users to discover tickets as a group, split the purchase cost, plan the event and discuss the event afterwards, serving as a part of the experience from start to finish
31. 31 | www.simplify360.com
EBAY ON TWITTER
Following: 3192 Followers: 348 K Tweets: 12.1 K
EBay has not limited its innovation and creativity to just Facebook but it can be seen vividly on its Twitter campaigns as well.
EBay also hosted a Valentine's Day Twitter Chat Party. As part of the action, eBay's fashion team hosted an hour on Twitter, answering questions about gifts for women; and the electronics team hosted an hour focused on men's gifts. Based on eBay's stats, the Valentine's Day Twitter party had a social reach of 14.1 million impressions, with 4,800 users participating, for a total of 4,300 mentions and 1,700 retweets. Using the hashtag #eBayWithLove, the party was accompanied by a sweepstakes to win a $1,000 eBay shopping spree.
Just like Facebook, EBay has different handles for its Twitter account as well. It has handles like @eBay, @eBayDailyDeals, @eBay_Fashion, @eBayMotors, @eBayElectronics, @eBayGiving, @eBayMobile, @eBayGreen, @ebayInc and @AskeBay.
32. 32 | www.simplify360.com
EBAY ON PINTEREST
Boards: 36 Pins: 2698 Likes: 315
EBay’s strategy on Pinterest is primarily to provide inspiration for purchase. The boards are mostly theme based and are aimed to catch attention of fans in even products that they may not be looking for in the first place.
33. 33 | www.simplify360.com
EBAY ON INSTAGRAM
Followers: 38149 Following: 218 Posts: 351
EBay’s strategy on Instagram is not just to put up an array of products; rather it aims to develop connection with the target audience using pictures that are mostly emotive.
For instance, here they have a picture of basketball player Tim Duncan and it has been liked by a considerable number of fans, although it is not directly relevant to the company objective.
34. 34 | www.simplify360.com
For More Information:
Contact: contact@simplify360.com
Website: www.simplify360.com
Social Network:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Simplify360
Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/company/simplify360
Tumblr: http://simplify360.tumblr.com/
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/simplify360
Google+: google.com/+Simplify360
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simplify360
Blog: http://simplify360.com/blog/
Scribd: http://www.scribd.com/Simplify360
Instagram: http://instagram.com/simplify360
If you want to know more about product and service:
Please contact us at contact@simplify360.com or fill in our online form LINK.